Not What You Think
by StrongestOfWomen
Summary: When Lincoln dies and Daisy runs, what will happen after six months of searching Coulson finds her? It's certainly not the reunion they were hoping for when they're both kidnapped and tortured.


When the Quinjet carrying Lincoln, Hive, and a nuclear warhead exploded in space, I lost it. It almost felt as if my heart split in half as the vacuum filled with debris. I fell to the ground, crying for what had been lost, an un-explored, unfulfilled- love.

No one said a word that night, no one even looked at me because they had no words, or they were disgusted by me and my actions. I sat in the white room alone; unable to sleep or even close my eyes because every time I did I saw his face again. I tasted his lips again, and felt the slight static that would always escape them.

Eventually, I started to think of all the lives I've ruined and enemies I have made. There were names after names of foes I counted and lives I had taken. I came to the conclusion that my life meant nothing to anyone anymore; there were so few people who cared for me that I wouldn't be missed. That's when I remembered. The night on top of the company building where I was almost beaten to death had it not been for Charles Hinton. I made a promise that night, to Charles as he lay in front of me, dying. " _I'll protect her, I promise, -always."_

I sure as hell intended on keeping that promise.

 _SIX MONTHS LATER_

I felt like a terrible person when I caused so much damage in San Francisco, but I didn't mean it. It all happened by accident, and now the world sees me as the monster I truly am. I went to a safe house in the capitol of San Francisco that I believed to be secure, but I thought wrong.

I pulled to a halt in the driveway off the safe house and walked up on the porch with my backpack around my shoulders. I dug around in the soil of a plant for about a minute before I found the spare key. When I turned the knob all I heard was "Freeze, put your hands where I can see them," but it was too late. I turned around slowly with my hands in the air, the key still in my hand. I took in my surroundings and saw that I was most definitely out-numbered.

At least 15 Agents held their guns on me, all with the safety off. I could tell they were Icers by the way they were built, but Icers made no difference in my case. The wind bit at me and blew my hair in my face, so I made my move. Slowly I pretended to pull my hair out of the way, bringing my hands to meet the Agents. With no warning, I let all hell break lose as the Agents went flying onto their backs, completely shocked.

I ran to the left, into the neighbor's yard, hopping fence after fence and to my advantage, I used my shockwaves to give me quite the boost I needed to get over them. Of course a few quickly recovered Agents tried to follow me, but it was no use. When I was sure I wasn't followed, I walked nonchalantly into a coffee shop and sat down in a booth across from a women.

"I was starting to think you were a no-show," she said while taking a sip of her coffee. I leaned back into the booth and tried to relax, to no avail.

"I ran into a, umm, complication. Nothing I couldn't handle though I am curious how they found a safe house that you said only a few _trusted_ friends knew about," I spat at her. I didn't want to upset her, seeing as I desperately didn't want to make her mad but I couldn't help it. I was furious. I had been on the run for more than six months now from S.H.I.E.L.D. and I haven't been able to get a wink of sleep since.

"I am sorry about that, and the problem was taken care of, so no more need to worry. Do you have the product?" she asked. I unzipped the black backpack around my shoulders and dug around for a second before I found it. I drew the small chip out of the bag and slid it across the table and she did the same, except it wasn't what I expected.

"What is this?" I asked holding up the key she gave me. It was a small key and it looked just like an ordinary key, but it felt like it was as heavy as a brick.

"Just a little getting around money," she started to stand up as if she were about to leave, but I didn't let her. My hands were pointed at her, a small wave coming from them, pushing her back into the booth.

"When does it end," I demanded, wanting to know when they would stop blackmailing me.

"Inside the key is gold, a small amount of gold, but enough to help you with your next mission. I expect it won't be a problem for you, will it? If so just slide it back over here. Oh, and don't forget about our little, _agreement_ ," she said but her tone said otherwise, warning me to let her go.

As for the agreement, she was talking about Robin Hinton, Charles' daughter. I tried to help them and everything was going fine, until Hydra found me. They threatened to hurt them if I refused to help them. They put the family into the Incentives program like Hydra had. Now I do whatever they say, like a foot soldier taking orders. They even put a small chip in my back, listening to everything I say and everywhere I go so I cannot warn S.H.I.E.L.D. of my situation.

"No, it won't be a problem," I answered, knowing any of my actions would result in pain and harm for the Hinton family.

"Good, then your next mission will be delivered to you shortly, and I suggest you better catch a train, I hear that planes are not safe around here," she winked as she left; telling me somehow, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already managed to shut down the airports.

I headed out the door towards the nearest train and having no money; I jumped on board the old way, silently and unnoticed. I lay in the cargo hold, using my backpack as a pillow and slept for the first time in awhile.

I woke to the screeching sound of train tracks. I was not alarmed as I looked at my watch and noticed that this was only the second stop of the five I had to go. Lying down again, I had no problems falling asleep, except this time it brought dreams.

I was at Ian Quinn's mansion, watching as Mike Peterson left me behind, alone and un-armed against Quinn. I turned around and demanded to know what they had done to Mike, but before I could finish, a gunshot echoed through the room and a burning pain came to my stomach. I looked down and reached for it with my hands only to see blood. He then walked up to me and held my dying body as he put another round into my stomach before he fell to the ground with me. He actually _apologized._ I tried holding my wounds as best as I could, but I could feel the life slowly draining from my body. I remember crawling to the wall next to the door, waiting and praying for Coulson to find me, he was my only hope, my only chance. That's the last thing I remember before I woke up on the Bus.

Again, I woke to the hailing screech of the train coming to another stop. My watch read 3:15, meaning this was my last stop before having to get off. I packed my items and prepared to leave for when I needed to then I lay wide awake for what seemed like an eternity.

The sweat started building up on my forehead, nothing I wasn't used to though, a cargo bay is hotter than hell. The smell of warm clothes and rotting wood filled my nostrils, but once again, it all seemed too familiar. I have been on the run for 6 months now this had to be at least my 20 time in a cargo bay, if not, more.

My eyes never fully adjusted to the darkness around me and I couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard I tried. So instead, I started thinking about why I was on the run, why I even ran in the first place. I had no reason at S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore, not without Lincoln. I may have been doing good work there, but I didn't see myself starting a family in such a dangerous place, and not at a time like this.

Sure, my whole family I ever knew and loved was there, but that's also where my heart got broken too many times for me to recover. Ward, Hunter, Bobbi, and now Lincoln, how many more friends can I lose before I lose myself with them? There were many reasons to stay too, of course. Mack, FitzSimmons, May, and Coulson.

Eventually the darkness overcame me and I drifted off. The next thing I know, my watch is blaring in my ear _._ By time I snuck off the train and into the crowd of groggy people, I could feel it. Everywhere I caught people glancing in my direction and talking to themselves. Except I knew they were talking into comms as I have done so many times before. Men and women, some sitting down casually and some even circling around me like I was their prey.

I tightened my backpack around me before I headed towards the nearest bathroom. I could feel my knuckles whitening as my black nails dug deep into the backpack like it was worth a million dollars. As I ducked into the bathroom the first thing I noticed was the slim dirty window at the very top of the room. _Too small._ I turned around and nearly bumped into the lady standing directly behind me. With no time to react, I grabbed her wrist and spun her over my back, knocking the wind out of her.

I ran in a dead sprint out of the bathroom towards the exit of the station I noticed earlier. I was inches away from escaping when I heard his voice.

"Please Daisy come home," the deep voice echoed. I knew who it was without a second thought; by the way he said please, it almost sounded like he was heartbroken. Before it was too late, I pushed a button on my watch, jamming the listening frequency in the chip in my back. I stopped just long enough to glance at him, his robotic hand looking normal as ever, his hair the same as always. The only difference I noticed was he wasn't wearing a suit; instead he had jeans and a baseball shirt on.

"We don't have much time before they can hear me again so I'll try and be quick. They're black mailing me Coulson," I said. I felt the lump in my throat growing bigger until it hurt, my eyes filling with tears. I stuffed back a sniffle as best as I could but a little one escaped. I remember the last thing I said to him before the frequency came back on. "Please, help me." I handed him the note I had written everything that has happened to me in. I hugged him before I could stop myself.

"Who is blackmailing you Daisy?" Before he could finish, I shoved the note into his hand and started to walk away before I turned to him one last time.

"No thanks I don't want to buy any of your magazines," I said, hinting him off after I knew the listening device came back on. He got the hint as he stood there, shocked at the first communication we've had in six months, unable to respond before I left him.

I got to the nearest safe house and relaxed. It felt so nice to finally have been able to tell them what had happened to me. Finally they knew that I wasn't just running and destroying everything in my path because of Lincoln, it was because I cared for someone and that put them in danger.

I pulled out my laptop and started to read the next mission briefing before I took a shower and dozed off. It seemed simple enough, an in and out mission; all I had to do was steal an artifact from some lousy rich guy.

Edwin Vallquet was a billionaire with a lot of precious artifacts, but for some reason, Hydra wanted one of them he had. At first, the picture of the artifact just looked like a blue gem, but it didn't take long before my eyes realized what I really had to steal. It was a terregin crystal, a small one, but still a very powerful crystal. _I thought they were all destroyed_ , was my last thoughts as I dozed off.

In the morning I prepared for the upcoming mission by buying a fancy blue dress exposing my back, silver earrings, and a fake diamond bracelet. The rest of the day I spent booking safe houses and supplies from employers in Pennsylvania because that's where I will be heading after this. By the time the ball came around that Edwin Vallquet was holding I looked like some rich stuck up teenager.

As I entered the ball, alone, I scanned for all the exits and checked out the guards, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I approached one of the guards nonchalantly and checked to see what kind of weapons they were packing. Nothing to complicated; but guns are still a messy business.

The little handbag I was carrying my phone in buzzed. It could only be one person; I have only one contact on my phone, my Handler. She sent me a photo that made my heart sink; it was a picture of my team.

In the photo Coulson, May, Mack, Fittz, and Simmons all sat on the Bus in our missions briefing room. On the screen it showed a picture of me, Mrs. Hinton, and Robin. At the center of the table sat the note I gave to Coulson. The message only said a few words that created a lump in my throat.

" _I told you there would be consequences."_

 _Coulson stood in the train station, shocked at finally seeing her. He had been chasing her for 6 months,_ 6 months _, and when he finally found her she had only said a few words to him. Then he let her go, because he hadn't known what else to do. Almost forgetting about the note she had given him, he unfolded the crinkly piece of paper and began to read._

Before I even say anything read with caution. Everything I'm about to tell you could get you killed.

I am being blackmailed by the only group I could think of, Hydra. It all started when I was helping the Hinton's. That was my first mistake. A week after that they started sending me pictures of individual members of S.H.I.E.L.D. doing their own thing, like May visiting the cemetery, Mack with his brother, and Coulson on a stake out. They're everywhere, I think even inside S.H.I.E.L.D. They put a chip in my back and it tracks everything I do on an electrical device, where I go, and they are even listening.

They probably didn't count on me getting close enough to you guys to hand you a hand written note, but if your reading this then somehow you did it. You have to find the Hinton's; I never meant to drag them into this mess. I would sleep better knowing Mack was watching over them.

If you got this note, please help me but do _not_ do anything to put anyone at risk. I wouldn't be able to look at myself if someone else died for me, not again, not _ever_.

Agent Daisy Johnson

 _Coulson couldn't believe it. She was on the run, not because she was acting out to Lincoln's death, but to protect her team and an innocent family. That night, he shared everything he had learned from the note with the team._

 _"_ _So she has been doing this for us," Mack asked as he leaned back in his black leather chair. "She hasn't been on the run from us for no reason, but to protect us?"_

 _"_ _It seems so. I saw her today, at the train station. She looked exhausted and scared. We have to find the Hinton family and put them under protective custody, and Mack she asked for you to personally protect them until this whole thing blows over;" Simmons looked up from where she had been sitting with Fitz._

 _Well there goes the vacation time Fitz and I were about to ask for. She looked up at him to see his expression, knowing that he wanted to stay and help now too. This was the first lead we have had on Daisy every since she ran away. Wait she didn't run away, no, since she started protecting us from Hydra Jemma corrected herself._

 _"_ _Then what are we waiting for, let's find the Hinton's," May ordered. No one waited for actual order as they all jumped into action doing their own thing._

I stood at the food table doing a little more recon before I sat back at my table. As hard as I tried to think of the mission, I was too afraid of the consequences to come for my friends. Every couple of minutes I checked my phone, waiting for new messages, but none came. After awhile of just sitting and checking my phone, I noticed I caught the attention of one of the men.

I glanced up at him, catching his eyes with mine. He had hazel eyes and curly blond hair, but he was nothing compared to Lincoln. Nobody could compare to him because Lincoln was the one that was always there for me, especially when I was transitioning. Unlike Lincoln, this guy looked like a total player.

When our eyes broke away I waited for him to walk over to me and introduce himself, but he didn't. He just kept staring at me with those deep hazel eyes until I got sick of it and started to make my way towards him. I bumped into a few dancing couples on the floor before I reached his table and sat across from him.

It was just us at the table but I noticed a few concerned looks from the guards as I made my way to him. _Definitely a playboy,_ I thought as I turned away and invisibly rolled my eyes towards one of the guards. A slight smile escaped his lips as I turned to face this playboy.

"So what's your role at this fine ball tonight," he asked me.

"I'm here on behalf of a group of people you probably wouldn't know," I took a sip from his champagne and set it back on the fancy table. "It's probably out of your class anyways," I finished. He sat up straight before he answered me.

He leaned in close and whispered in my ear "Try me," before he sat back in his chair, clearly expecting an answer from me.

"Oh I wouldn't want to get you killed, my business could be a little, umm, rough I guess you could say."

"I like rough," he looked me up and down.

"If you insist on knowing then be my guess. I work for Hydra; I am a sleeper agent inside of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Wow, that is a rough business, but mine is rougher. I am one of the top dogs inside of a hacking group called Rising Tide," he leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I can take rough, sweet thing."

"Well I guess we'll just have to put that to the test, now wont we?" I said flirtatiously. I stood up and started walking to the room the guards where protecting, asking for him to follow. He obeyed as he stood up and waved the guards off as we slipped into the room filled with artifacts. He whispered something in the guard's ear as he quickly rounded the corner and opened the room with a code.

I noticed the code was 2727 but I probably wouldn't need it, I already had an escape route planned. As we both entered the enormous room, I looked at it in awe. There were items hanging everywhere, sitting all over the floor, and some even moving. I looked at the giant glass payne window and decided that is going to be my way out. Next to it sat a baseball bat that looked extremely expensive, and that was how I was going to break the window.

I sat on a desk filled with paper as I told him to come here, and he did. He made his way over to the desk I was at and as he leaned in for a kiss, I jumped behind him with one hand over his mouth, the other around his neck. It didn't take long before he fell to the ground, body limp.

Without a second to spare, I scanned the room and found the safe I had to break into. I ran over to it and took my heels off at the same time, knowing I would have to be running soon. I entered the code into the safe, and to my surprise, it opened. I was expecting to have to use my tiny explosive earrings but I guess the code worked.

When I found the terrigen crystal, it brought back memories. It reminded me of when I first realized it was me shaking the whole bus as Lady Sif looked at me. I knew what I had to do when she was almost breaking through the prison cell that once held Ward. So I pulled the trigger on myself, to protect everyone I cared about.

I grabbed the crystal in the clear plastic box and made my way to the spot the baseball bat had been earlier and picked it up. I've never swung a bat in my life, but I was pretty sure if I just hit the window hard enough, it would break and I would be free. Of course they would try and follow me so I would run into the nearby town and jump onto a roof and lay low for the night.

As I set the box down and began to swing the bat, I could hear the guards finding the dude who thought he was going to get lucky with me. _There goes my head start_ I thought to myself as I swung the bat around and made contact with the glass window. I turned around and covered myself as I jumped out the window with a shockwave so I did not cut myself.

I ran through the grassy lawn and I could feel the pieces of freshly cut grass sticking to my ankles as I run bare foot for my dear life. I held onto the box with two hands because I was too afraid of losing it, especially since my handler said there would already be consequences. As I reached town, I ran to the nearby grocery store and used my powers to jump up.

The rest of the night blew by in a breeze as I wrapped up in the blanket I had hid there earlier. In the morning as I got changed, I lay low so nobody would see me except for the bird that sat on the ledge of the store. I threw the expensive dress on the ground, already changed into jeans and a black sweater, and grabbed my backpack to head to the train station where I would meet my handler for the hand off.

I got there quick considering it was only a couple of miles away, but when I did my stomach dropped remember the photo last night. _There will be consequences._ What will happen? Are they going to hurt my team, or are they going to hurt the Hinton's?

As I walked in the station my phone buzzed. _At the tickets counter._ I started heading towards the tickets counter through the crowd of people when a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me the opposite way. I tried not to make a scene, not wanting the attention, so I grabbed the guys arm and started to push a knife into it, drawing a drop of blood. I couldn't see his face clearly but he looked down to where I was holding the knife then back at me.

"Who are you," I growled.

"I'm here for the product," he told me as he let go of my arm and I put away my knife and then lead me to the ticket booth into a corner where nobody could see us. I looked at his face; he had a brown mustache and beard with dark grey hair, telling me he had to be at least 45. We stood in the corner for what felt like an eternity. "Well, where is the product."

"Its right here," I dug into my backpack and fished out the box, but I teased him by not giving it to him and when he reached for it, I pulled it out of his reach. "What did she do," I asked, clearly telling him I won't give him the box until he tells me.

"I don't know I'm only here for the box, they never told me anything."

"Why is it I don't believe you," I asked, noticing he had my handlers phone. "Oh and why do you have my handler's phone?" His face looked like he was pissed off that I had figured out he wasn't just _somebody_. He had to know something about what was going on and I knew it.

"Ok, since your clearly not obeying my orders," he pulled out the phone and started to type something in it when suddenly I tossed the box at him. He dropped the phone to catch the box so I reached down and picked up the burner phone for him, what he didn't notice is how I switched his phone with mine.

I didn't even say anything as I walked away from him towards the exit of the train station. When I was outside in the cold October wind, I looked for a way onto the trains. I saw part of the fence pulled back as I followed it towards the end of the station. When I was over the fence my eyes scanned for the train I would have to take.

When I found it and boarded, I took the phone out of my bag and started to snoop around. Before I started looking through the contacts and messages, I pulled a few suitcases out to make a somewhat comfy couch for myself.

When I went to contacts, it only had three names under it; Carlisle, Triple A, and Ace. I went to the most recent messages from Ace and couldn't believe what I found; it was a picture of Coulson's car Lola wrapped around a telephone pole. I almost started crying when I saw him sitting in the driver's seat, head against the airbag, and gun in his hand.

 _Oh my god, is Coulson dead?_ Just the thought of him being dead made me empty the contents of my stomach onto the floor and stinking up the cargo hold even worse. I slowly cried myself to sleep that night, not feeling up to checking the rest of the phone.

 _Another person died at my hands today. Another life gone because of my actions, but this wasn't just any life. It was Coulson, a man that had been there for me, he was like a father to me. Now he's dead because of me._

 _About a week after Daisy had given Coulson the note, he finally had a lead. The Hinton family had a new neighbor move in a few weeks before they disappeared and his name was Ace Lockwood. Coulson told the team of the lead but they were all on the Bus which was almost twenty minutes away so he decided to drive there on his own from the bar he got the lead at._

 _As he hopped in Lola, excitement and fear filled his body._ All I have to do is save the Hinton's and Hydra can't blackmail Daisy anymore. She could come home after this, _he thought to himself. When he was only about 5 minutes out from this mystery neighbor, suddenly something hit his car and it made Lola go flying off the road._

 _He was heading straight towards a telephone pole when he tried to move back onto the road, slowing down a bit but a pickup truck pulled to his left so he couldn't get out of the way. There was no time to react as Lola crashed into the pole and the last thing he remembered is a man coming towards his car._

I woke up in Philadelphia PA, and made my way towards yet another safe house that my new handler had told me about. He also knew that I had switched phones with him and was furious. When I finally reached the door all I remembered was something hitting the back of my head as I went crashing towards the ground thinking: _This was it, my fight is over_.

When I woke up the first thing I felt was the throbbing pain in the back of my head. I went to reach for it as I realized my hands were tied behind my back and I was sitting in a metal chair. I opened my eyes but couldn't see a single thing because of how dark it was. I tried to keep quiet but the pain was too much as I let out a slight groan.

That was all it took before the lights blazed to life and it felt as if I were blinded. I took in my surroundings which wasn't much; a cement cellar with a single bulb dangling from it and me sitting in the middle of it, facing the tall metal door. A second after I took in my surroundings the metal door opened and my handler walked in, dragging someone behind him.

My heart jumped at the sight of him being alive but was soon vanquished when I remembered the situation I was in. Then the sight of him made me sick as I saw the cuts on his arm and bruised and swollen forehead. _The car crash._

My handler threw him to the ground and I remembered his name on the phone messages last night, his name was Duncan Lockwood. Coulson slightly gasped out in pain as he hit the floor but didn't let it show how much pain he really was in. When he looked up and saw me it was like he had seen a ghost, and I didn't blame him. The first time we met in 6 months didn't really count but this was different, I knew we would have time to talk as Duncan chained his hands above his head to the cement wall and left, not saying a word. I didn't know what to say being alone in the room with Coulson for the first time in 6 months.

"You're bleeding," was the first thing he said. I hadn't noticed how much blood covered my face but after laughing at what he had said I could feel the dried blood on my right cheek. "Why are you laughing?"

"I just never pictured our reunion like this," I said, trying to choke back tears. "I've really missed you guys back at S.H.I.E.L.D."

"We have missed you more than ever too, Skye."

"Its, umm, it's Daisy now Coulson," I corrected.

"Damn, I don't think I will ever get used to that," he laughed a bit which made it impossible to keep a tear from falling down my blood caked cheek. He looked up and noticed it. "I'm going to get us out of this, Daisy. I promise," was all he could say before the metal door opened right next to him and Duncan walked in pushing a bin of water in and setting it behind me. Another man walked in with a SMG and stood in the back corner of the room, a guard of some sorts if I had to take a guess.

"Agent Daisy Johnson and Director Phil Coulson, who would've thought it was possible to have you both here at once?" Duncan walked over to me with a needle and stabbed it deep into my neck. I cringed at the sudden pain and saw Coulson clench his fists together. The drug took action quickly as my head started doing circles.

"What did you just give me," I started seeing black spots in my eyes and struggled to stay awake. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Coulson calling my name but no noise came out of his mouth.

"Just a little something to make sure you don't use your powers. Nothing to intense though," he lied. "Now you look like you could use some water," he said as he pulled a knife out and cut the ropes binding my hands to the chair. "Don't you, Director?" he turned towards Coulson and I could see him shouting at Duncan.

"What do you want, Duncan?" Coulson demanded. I could finally make sense of what they were saying now, but felt far too weak to even try and keep my eyes open.

"I want you to _suffer,_ Coulson. The only way I can see you doing that is through her," he pointed the knife at me. "Matter of fact, I think she can wait on the water, I think she needs to be taught a lesson that stealing is bad." I knew he was talking about his phone as he slowly dragged the knife across my good cheek, not cutting it yet.

"Oh I'm sorry," I got his attention, "I didn't think you would mind me borrowing your phone," I said sarcastically. The fun look in his eyes drained and was replaced by anger as he drew his fist back and made contact with my jaw, the force so strong it threw me and the chair as pain exploded all over my cheek and wrist and landed on the dirty ground.

"You think your funny," he said drawing his fist back again and striking the same spot on my jaw, me not being able to do anything with my still tied wrists lying on my stomach out of the chair.

"Stop, please stop!" Coulson shouted. This wasn't like Coulson, showing his weakness in front of an enemy, and especially not pleading.

"You want me to stop, Coulson?" he asked turning his attention away from me. I could taste a bunch of blood in my mouth and spit it out as I tried to get to my knees. It was no use; I couldn't even look up to see what was going on.

"Yes, please stop Duncan," he almost begged.

"Well I'll stop when you bring my brother back from the dead," he walked over to me and grabbed my hair pulling my head up as he crashed his fist into my throat and I gasped for air. My lungs felt like they were dying and my head kept throbbing. I longed for oxygen and still hadn't gotten a single lick of it when he all the sudden picked me up bridal style and dropped next to the bin of icy water.

"Duncan please don't do this, if you want to hurt me, hurt _me_. Who knows what Daisy may do if she's in pain. She may end up bringing the whole structure down on us." My head lolled up at the sound of my name.

"It's worth the risk. And Coulson, believe me when I say this torture will be like no other torture you've been trained for." Duncan held my hair and brought me to my knees in front of the bin, and pushed my head into the icy bin of water.

My throat was swollen and I thought I would never get air as I struggled to get to the top of the bin, but Duncan wouldn't let me. It didn't take long before my lungs had filled with water and my head started doing circles again, but this time I was afraid I wouldn't wake up. When he removed his hand from my forehead he grabbed my throat and dragged me to the surface, I still couldn't breathe properly.

But just as I was able to breathe and pulled in breath after breath not noticing or caring what Duncan and Coulson were talking about, I was put right back under. Unfortunately I couldn't get a breath to hold as I went back under for what felt like an eternity, the experience the same as the first time.

Duncan did this to me until I couldn't breathe anymore and my body went limp as he pulled me out of the bin. I was surrounded by darkness and couldn't feel any pain or see or do anything. _Am I dead? Did I finally die the horrific death I deserved, is it over?_

My wish had been cut short when I woke up and felt the pain all over again and spat out the water that was blocking my lungs from air. I sucked in a few short mouthfuls of air before the darkness overcame me and I couldn't see anything.

 _When he pulled Daisy's limp body out from the tub, Coulson's heart skipped a beat thinking she was dead. Before he could react to what was happening before him Duncan threw Daisy on the ground and her body hit the dirt with a thud, the water leaking off her turning the dirt into mud. He started CPR and after a minute he was about to give up._

 _"_ _You can't die yet, Agent Johnson. I still haven't had my fun with you," he growled._

 _The scene before him made Coulson sick as tears welled up in his eyes._ Wake up Daisy, come on damn it, wake up! _She did wake up, spitting water to the side. Relief filled Coulson but at the same time made him sad. She would still have to pay for his actions._

 _Duncan tied her up the metal chair again and left without saying a word. Daisy sat in the chair, her head leaning to the left of her shoulder and her short brown hair covering her face. Her chest moved up and down, unlike it had a minute before. Coulson wanted nothing more than sleep but he couldn't stop watching Daisy, making sure nothing happened. She was like a daughter to him; no, she_ was _a daughter to him.'_ I'm going to kill that son-of-a-bitch Duncan even if I die doing it' _was his last thought as he eventually drifted off into the loneliness of sleep._

When I woke up, it felt like I swallowed a basketball. My jaw was swollen and ached badly every time I moved my mouth and my throat hurt just as bad. What really got my attention was every time I took a breath, it felt like my lungs might explode. I moved my neck around my head doing circles trying to get it to feel better from the way I passed out.

When I noticed Coulson woke up our eyes locked for a moment before I decided to try and speak but he cut me off.

"Don't even try," he told me. I shut my mouth and when I swallowed, it felt like swallowing a marble. It was awhile before he finally spoke again. "Daisy, I'm so sorry. We looked for you every day and night until I finally found a lead which helped me find you at the train station that day. When I saw you, my heart dropped finally seeing you were safe and sound. Now…" his voice trailed off.

Ignoring his advice to stay quiet, I had to answer him. "None of this is your fault, Coulson. It's mine, I am the one who gave you the note, I deserve-"all the sudden I couldn't stop coughing.

"Daisy are you OK?" Before I could finish coughing the huge metal door swung open and Duncan walked in with his guard.

"Good, your awake again Agent Johnson," he made his way towards me and plunged another needle into my neck. _Damn he is not gentle with these needles._ "The fun is just about to start," he said as he pulled out his knife and dragged it across my collarbone slowly and pushing hard.

I couldn't help but let out a small grunt of pain as he started on the back of my neck and worked his way to tracing my collarbone, staining my black sweater with blood.

"Duncan please stop this," Coulson started. In the blink of an eye Duncan turned around and dug the knife into Coulson's thigh, making me gasp at the sudden violence as Coulson let out a small grunt. Duncan pulled the knife out quickly making sure to move it around as he did to cause more pain.

"I didn't ask you to talk," he said before he pulled out an old filthy cloth and gagged Coulson. I felt helpless, trying to conjure up even a rumble of the ground with my powers but I couldn't concentrate hard enough with the fresh drugs in my system. I looked at the metal door and concentrated with all my might on breaking it down as Duncan carved into my skin, this time tracing the knife over my stomach, as Coulson struggled against his restraints.

The cuts on my arms and chest hurt badly but the ones on my back hurt even worse as he slid my shirt up just enough to keep cutting. I grunted every once in a while but not too loud so he didn't get the satisfaction of hearing my real pain.

Concentrating on the door I swear I started to see it shake as Duncan started back on my chest. With every ounce of strength I had left in me, I broke down the door and sent it flying down the hallway. Duncan looked up in surprise.

"Well, the little birdie is stronger than she looks," he turned to Coulson whose face was pale. "What do you think Coulson; you think we should test what would happen if I caused some real damage other than a few bumps and cuts?"

He shook his head violently no but it was too late. Duncan whipped around and plunged the knife into my stomach to the left of where I was shot. The pain was unbearable as he twisted the knife a little before laughing and throwing a key in front of Coulson on the ground, just out of his reach.

Duncan took the gag out of his mouth and left the room laughing, but I wasn't paying attention. The pain in my stomach ached as I watch blood ooze out from the fresh wound onto my jeans and then to the floor.

"Skye, hey Skye look at me!" Coulson shouted. I watched him struggle against the restraints trying to get to the key, only inches away as I blacked out.

 _When Daisy passed out Coulson wasn't sure if she'd wake up again unless he got to her. Coulson started to take his shoe off and inched it into his hands that were strung to the cement wall. Slowly with his mechanical hand he unlaced the shoe and put it back on, the lace still in his hand. Every half hour the guard would go and check if Daisy was still alive and the next time he made his way to her, Coulson made his move._

 _When the guard started back to his post, Coulson tripped him and he landed flat on his back. Struggling to get to the guard, he wrapped the shoelace around his neck and pulled as hard as he could until the guard passed out. Coulson made his way to the set of keys and unchained himself._

 _Just as he grabbed the guard's side arm, Duncan flew in knowing something was wrong as he saw the guard on the floor. Before Coulson could get a shot off, suddenly he was on the ground next to the guard taking punch after punch until he finally got the recovered guard off of him and shot him in the knee cap._

 _When he stood up he looked towards Daisy and saw Duncan holding the knife to her throat while using her as a shield. Coulson raised his gun to where Duncan's head was but couldn't take the shot._

 _"_ _Do it Coulson, take the shot and watch how fast Agent Johnson's blood stains the ground," he threatened. "Well, faster than it already is," he finished with an evil grin._

 _"_ _Duncan let her go, we can still help you," Coulson offered._

 _"_ Help, _Director? Please tell me that was just a joke," he shifted his weight so he could pull Daisy by her hair exposing her neck and held the knife tighter to her throat, drawing some blood. Coulson looked at Daisy; she was in bad condition and needed his help right away. She had already been unconscious way too long, and seeing the usually mighty women he thought of as a daughter in this state was making him sick. A little blood escaped Daisy's mouth, it was fresh._

 _He looked back at Duncan and decided he had to take the shot; Daisy was running out of time if it wasn't already too late. '_ Damn you Coulson don't think like that, Daisy will be fine and you two can catch up on her adventures', _he scolded himself. His finger tightened on the trigger before he saw it. The little red dot pointed right on Duncan's forehead, his beacon of hope._

 _"_ _Alright Duncan, just let her go and you can have me," Coulson bargained and lowered his gun until he dropped it on the floor._

 _"_ _Wow Coulson, I knew you loved this girl but to put your gun down and surrender yourself," his grip loosened on the knife and that's when the deafening shot filled the room and Duncan fell backwards to the ground, dead._

When I woke up to the sweet soft hum of an airplane engine, I knew I was dreaming. I looked around and saw I was in the recovery room that I was put in after I had been shot. In the chair next to me sat May wide awake with a cup of coffee in her hand, the aroma telling me it was not a dream.

"I thought you hated coffee," I teased her. She looked like the same old May I had seen 6 months ago as we faced off against Hive. Surprised that I was awake she looked up at me.

"This isn't mine it's-"before she could finish Coulson walked in.

"Mine," he said as May handed him his coffee. "Thanks May, could I have a moment alone with Skye?"

She left the room but not before correcting him. "It's Daisy."

Coulson smiled and sat next to me. His forehead was bandaged from the car crash and he was on crutches.

"Well A.C. I don't know how you did it but you kept your promise. I'm assuming the Hinton family is safe?"

"Yea Mack made sure of that. A few attempts were made by Hydra to get to them but they were no match for Mack. We also freed a bunch of other families that were being held captive." Just the thought of Mack made Daisy smile, but she knew her fight wasn't over. Her body ached all over and a small spot in particular hurt right behind her shoulder.

"You took the tracker out of my shoulder," I said lamely, trying to make small talk. It didn't work.

"How are you, Skye?" He pulled a chair over and sat next to her. She saw him glance at her hand, wanting so badly to grab it, to hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay, but he held back. People can change a lot in six months.

"Honestly, Coulson, I couldn't be happier." This took him by surprise as he raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that answer. "I am finally free from my captors and back with my friends, my family." She sat up a little and winced as she did so and grabbed his hand. "Yes there is still _a lot_ of pain, especially physically, but who better to help me with that than my family?"

Coulson was so relieved to hear this, knowing she wasn't going to try and run away again, away from them. When she was gone, she took a great chunk of his heart with him, leaving him incomplete. _Except she didn't run away, Coulson reminded himself._

"Skye, you don't know how relieved I am to hear this, it means so much to me. If you-" before he could finish, Jemma walked in.

" _Daisy,"_ she said sadly. I looked up to her and opened my arms for a hug. When the hug ended she looked angry. "Don't _ever_ get kidnapped and blackmailed again, okay?" I let a small chuckle out at that.

"Is that an order, Doctor?" I asked teasingly.

"In fact, it is. Along with the fact that your bum isn't going to lift an inch from this bed for a _year."_ The room filled with laughter as the rest of the team walked in. Mack looked at me with sorrow in his eyes.

"Daisy," was all he said before he moved in for the softest bear hug he had ever given. Not long after him, Fitz gave me one as well, but what really surprised her was when May came in for a hug and told me she was glad I was back.

The rest of the night went by in a blur with laughs and food and love. I hadn't felt this great since I left four bullets into Grant Wards chest. As we all sat in the infirmary and shared beers, I couldn't be happier. It wasn't soon after that I fell asleep, this time with no nightmares interrupting my slumber.


End file.
